Peter, A Success Story

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Acts of the Apostles, church, gifts, Holy Spirit, power of God, St. Peter, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Chapter 9 of the Acts of the Apostles speaks of the many miraculous happenings as the Church was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit she grew in numbers. (vs. 31) As I read those lines from today’s lectionary text and the following examples of healings by Peter (vs.32-42) I tried to catch the feeling of power that must have accompanied their work. I thought then of Peter’s history and wondered if it was difficult at that point for him to remember that the power came from the Holy Spirit and not from himself.

Sometimes it takes awhile for us to truly wake up to the gifts that we have been given for good. Like Peter, some of us are impetuous and dive into things without much thought. Our intentions are good but we jump too fast without considering all of the consequences. On the contrary some of us are too slow to move for fear of making a mistake. There comes a time, however, if we are motivated by pure love, when something shifts within us and we can look in the mirror and see our true face. At that moment – and ever thereafter – we are certain of the power of God that is our heritage and our strength. We let go of the desire to be someone extraordinary and are content and able to listen for what some have called “the still, small voice of God” that works in us and companions us in our every moment.

I trust that as the Church grew, Peter grew as well in humility, trust and confidence. I believe that we, too, have the possibility of such “success.”

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Kateri, “Lily of the Mohawk”

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connectedness, gifts, gratitude, Jesuit, missionaries, st. kateri tekakwitha, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today is the feast of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American saint, whom we New Yorkers claim for our own. Kateri  was born in 1656 in what is now Auriesville, New York and died only 24 years later. The daughter of a Mohawk chief and an Algonquin mother, she became an orphan at age four when a smallpox epidemic claimed both her parents and her brother. Her short life was one of generosity and holiness, influenced by Jesuit missionaries and her own deep faith.

In our day, we have learned to celebrate the spirituality of Native peoples who understand more clearly than most inhabitants of our beautiful land that we are not here to take advantage of the natural world but rather to protect and honor it. As Chief Seattle wrote, “Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect…”

Today would be a good day to pray in gratitude for the gifts of the natural world and for those who work to protect it. A question to consider in our reflection might include our assessment of ourselves as environmentalists. Do I walk softly on the earth, trying never to disturb the balance of nature? Am I aware of my “carbon footprint” and taking steps to reduce it? Do I recycle and work to keep our waterways pure? The list goes on…How can we be kinder to our Mother Earth, each of us doing our part?

May you walk in beauty today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spirit Of All That Lives

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awe, breath, counsel, fear of the Lord, fortitude, gifts, Holy Spirit, knowledge, Pentecost, piety, Prayer Seeds, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understanding, wisdom, wonder

Today we celebrate the outpouring of the power that we call the Holy Spirit. Every inspiration that leads us deeper into the transformation of our hearts in love is understood as an impulse of this face of God. This Spirit is as elemental as our breath, unseen but known in myriad ways great and small – universal and individual. It is as simple as the intake of my breath at the beauty of the burgeoning flowers in spring or as miraculous as the moment a young woman first holds her newborn child. The Spirit brings many gifts, taught in Christianity (traditionally and then in modern parlance) as wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel (right judgment), fortitude (courage), piety (reverence) and fear of the Lord (Wonder and awe in God’s presence).

Let us be grateful in this celebration as we pray: Spirit of the Universe, Spirit of my heart, I welcome you into my life. Come visit the places within me where Love has yet to find a dwelling place. Breathe within all of my existence with the power of your transforming grace. I open my entire being to you and thank you for the gift of your presence. Amen. (Prayer Seeds, p. 172)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weather Report

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flourish, gifts, Isaiah, Peace, purpose, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, weather

Once again the meteorologists seem to have been correct in their predictions. No wonder all the announcements of school closings were made last evening instead of waiting to see what would really happen. It had just started raining when those decisions were made around the supper hour and was still raining when I went to bed sometime later. Now, with the dawn, we have that combination of heavy snow covering what can only be a frozen base on our roads and the eerie quiet that means no traffic thus far this morning. I pray for all the “necessary staff” folks who are on their way to work because the snow is still coming at what appears to be a faster rate than any plow can match.

Even as I send out prayers for safety and give thanks for the gifts of home and heat, I am once again awed by the natural world that is playing out what may be (we hope) the last gasp of serious winter weather for this season. As I watched the snow intensify over the past hour and the wild swaying of the trees that seems like keening for some reason today, I heard the voice of Isaiah in my head offering a goad to perseverance.

“Even as the rain and snow come down from heaven and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,” says the Lord, “so is my word that goes out from my mouth. It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (And here is that purpose – the part of the message for this morning that I did not hear but was happy to read as I searched the Scriptures for Isaiah’s prophecy.) “You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” (IS 55:10-12)

And so we wait…

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Early Days

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communion of saints, conversion, diversity, fellowship, friends, gifts, spreading the gospel, St. Paul, St. Timothy, St. Titus, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, zeal

I don’t ever recall the Church celebrating a feast in honor of St. Paul’s companions Timothy and Titus even though they have been known to me as recipients of Paul’s letters. Today I hear them accorded the title of “Saint” which clearly they deserve because of their zeal in spreading the gospel for which they eventually lost their lives. A few things stand out for me after reading commentary and thinking about Paul’s letters to each of them.

1. Commentaries put their death date around the year 95 so although they were early followers of Christ, they were not among the first apostles. Evidence points up the diversity in the early Christian community because Titus was a Greek Gentile whereas Timothy had a Greek father and Jewish mother. An interesting note (for me, at least) was the influence of Timothy’s grandmother, Lois, mentioned in one of Paul’s letters. She was a very early Christian who, I’m guessing, may have had some influence on her grandson’s conversion.
2. Both of these men were close friends of Paul and lent him support personally and as an intermediary in the communities to which Paul sent them. Clearly, Paul’s ministry was bolstered by their support in more ways than one.
3. Not simply missionaries, both of these men became administrators of the communities in which they served. Timothy, known to be very young for his role, was compared in the Franciscan commentary to a modern “harried bishop” and Titus was charged by Paul with “organizing, correcting abuses and appointing presbyter-bishops” on the island of Crete. They certainly knew the meaning of “multi-tasking.”

What all of this points up for me is not only that different gifts are essential for the work to be done, but also that “faith is caught, not taught” by people who exhibit the depth of their own faith to others, and that friends are very important; we cannot persevere without them, even if the relationships are carried on from a distance. (Note the warmth in Paul’s letters for both of these men.)

After all this pondering, I find myself conjuring images of these two admirable men as they go about their ministry. I see them arriving by boat, smiling with enthusiasm toward their greeters and exuding love with their every step, writing messages back to Paul of all the happenings of the day or the month and eagerly receiving his response…How grateful I am for their fellowship in the communion of saints to which we all belong!

Epiphany

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Christ Child, discovery, Emmanuel, epiphany, essential nature, gifts, intuitive, light, Magi, manifestation, Matthew, message, perception, presence of God, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

“What gift will you bring to the Christ Child?” we were always asked in Catholic school when we were young. Our answers were all about ways in which we could be “good boys and girls” – behaviors that would make the Christ Child smile and our parents happy. There was certainly a devotional value to that practice, a teachable moment that gave us a sweet and kind image of God “in flesh” to whom we could easily relate. Of course there was still the hope that we might get the gifts for which we were so longing, usually in those days rather simple and less expensive gifts than what is “expected” in today’s society.

The story of the gifts brought by the Magi from far away lands perhaps factored in to the consideration of what our gifts to the Baby Jesus would be. We needed to give him our best. Reading the gospel this morning for this feast of Epiphany (MT 2:1-12) brought back those memories as well as songs about the little drummer boy (with his drumming) and the shepherd boy (with his lamb). Importantly, in the end, the child who had nothing to give determined to give Jesus his heart.

The dictionary meaning of the word epiphany is a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something, an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking, or an illuminating discovery, realization or disclosure: a revealing scene or moment. We think of the Magi’s search for and meeting with God-come-to-earth as indicative of the world-wide importance of the Incarnation. Their recognition of Emmanuel (God-with-us) was intuitive and clear.

It is for us in our day, I believe, to recognize the presence of God – however we perceive this presence – and to spread the message of that presence in deeper and broader ways. May each of us be open to on-going epiphanies in our lives so that we move toward the light that we are seeking and share that light with the world.

The Many Are One

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beauty, body of Christ, Corinthians, folk mass, function, gifts, harmony, miraculous, physical body, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, united in God

Group of business people assembling jigsaw puzzle and represent team support and help concept

Today’s second reading from the lectionary (1 COR 12:12-30) is the one that uses the analogy of the human body when speaking of “the body of Christ.” I think of the familiar “folk Mass” hymn that we used to sing often when I was teaching school and playing guitar that still shows up in a more refined iteration in church some Sundays (probably today!). The refrain says that we are many parts; we are all one body and the gifts we have, we are given to share. May the Spirit of Love make us one indeed: one the love that we share, one our hope in despair, one the cross that we bear…The verses sing of joys as well as pain and how everything works better if we are all united in God.

I was thinking a little more elementally when that song popped up. My question was: Picturing the whole physical body, if you were only one part, which part would you be?

While you’re reflecting on your answer and considering all the possible responses (no jumping to conclusions, please – or dismissal of the question!) my suggestion is that you bless each part of your body as miraculous as it arises to your mind. Then when you know who you are, remember Paul’s caution that if an ear should say, “because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body,” it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be…?

How wonderful the world would be if each of us could accept the gifts and function of all of us as the harmony and beauty that animates us in this vast and marvelous created universe!

Dancing with the Stars

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Bindi Irwin, Dancing with the Stars, gifts, hope, joy of life, loss, persevere, psalm 131, quiet, rejoice, soul, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Last night I commented that the reason I like watching the television show Dancing with the Stars (besides the dancing) is that the celebrity participants seem, for the most part, like “real people” who are excited about learning a skill and appreciative of the camaraderie of the experience. Personalities emerge, of course, for better or for worse, but at this point in the 21st season, I find it all delightful. One of the stand-outs is Bindi Irwin, the daughter of Australian environmentalist Steve Irwin who died in 2006 from a stingray barb injury. Bindi was 8 years old. In addition to her talent as a dancer (whose partner is the amazing, 5-time winner Derek Hough) Bindi exudes the joy of life at every moment. She is authentically bubbly in spite of the devastating loss of her father that remains, and now even in the midst of the pain and injury during practice. She claims that complaining is never useful.

I thought St. Paul would have appreciated Bindi and I hear echoes of her comments in today’s Psalm 131. Paul says, “Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them…if one contributes, in generosity; if one is over others, with diligence; if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be sincere…Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.” (ROM 12:5-16) Psalm 131 seems a humble response to Paul’s exhortation: O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor are my eyes haughty; I busy not myself with great things, nor with things too sublime for me. Nay, rather I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child. Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap, so is my soul within me… Good advice from the great ones of old and the example of a lovely young lady.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transfiguration

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a peculiar gift, awe, enlightenment, everyday, gifts, God, inner knowing, James, John, Mark, mystical experiences, ongoing journey, openess, Peter, presence of God, shining like the sun, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Thomas Merton, transfiguration

One of the posts here during my Israel trip spoke of Thomas Merton’s mystical vision of people “walking around shining like the sun.” I’m reminded of that image this morning in reading Mark’s version of the familiar story of The Transfiguration, when Jesus was praying and his companions, Peter, James and John, saw him shining in the same way. (MK 9:2-10) As Merton says, mystical experiences cannot be understood with our ordinary minds but only by “a peculiar gift” – a total openness to the presence of God perhaps – which may be fleeting but never forgotten.

I’m interested this morning in the immediate reaction of the apostles – a mixture of terror and awe – which led Peter to suggest that they set up tents and stay on the mountain. And why not? Wouldn’t it be a natural desire if we had such a brilliant experience that revealed a depth heretofore unknown to us to hold onto it? But no. The moment passed and Jesus was again the Jesus they experienced in the everyday. Now, however, the three knew something that they did not know before, something inexplicable that Jesus told them to keep to themselves. Trying to explain it to others would have been difficult and perhaps distracting from the mission of Jesus. If people were to hear of the “ability” of Jesus to be transformed into a being of light they might long for that experience of him and no longer listen to the message of their own transformation into love. So it is with us. If we are granted moments of enlightenment  in whatever way they come to us we ought to be grateful for we will be changed. The challenge is to see these moments of insight (inner knowing) as gifts and to take them to ourselves as strength for the ongoing journey into God who continues to love us more than we can ask or imagine.

Wonderfully Made!

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gifts, grace, Hebrew, humility, me, talents, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth, wonderful creation

This morning’s psalm selection contains my favorite verses from the Hebrew Scriptures (PS 139: 13-14). Truly You have formed my inmost being, the psalmist sings; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made; wonderful are your works!

The miracle of human gestation and childbirth is enough, the functioning of all the systems in our bodies an amazing encore. What always confounds me each time I encounter those verses is that although most people who are familiar with the psalms claim this one as a favorite, many have difficulty speaking of themselves as a truly wonderful creation – physically and otherwise. Why is it that we find it so difficult to accept God’s gift of ourselves? Some of the reasons stem, I think, from cultural influence and some from religious teaching about humility incorrectly defined. Humility is knowing ourselves, recognizing that all grace comes from God, accepting our gifts and talents, that is, seeing ourselves as God sees us – a wonderful creation, not better or less than any other creature but rather as a necessary cog in the wheel of life, responsible to be totally the “me” that God intended, recognizing that wholeness comes at the end of life’s journey, not at birth. Humility has nothing in it of pride or self-denigration but is rather the companion of truth.

Today, then, I choose to get on board with the psalmist and give God the credit that God richly deserves for creating the miracle of us!